User blog:John Pan/Inter-species Conflict: Addendum
Date of Writing: 2054 Background World War Three. Over twenty million military casualties, one billion including civilians, and trillions upon trillions of dollars worth of property damage. To solve this problem, the belligerents of WW3 merged to form the HA—the GAC need not apply, since it was utterly exterminated. Or so they thought. Eight days after the would-be Human Alliance celebrated victory in Washington D.C., Paris, Hong Kong, Moscow and Jerusalem, UNASAR sent in a specialist team supported by their special forces to survey the GAC Bunker in Chile, a location destroyed by B-29s twenty days before. Yet when they dug in past the skin (200 meters), they found a jackpot. In the end, the dig took up the better part of three months, yet unearthed (literally) all of the important GAC developments in weapons technology, including Bipedal Mechanical Vehicles, advanced spacecraft engineering, nuclear weapons technology, biological augmentation research, and a plethora of other important advances in science, industry and technology. Which paved the way for a future, peer-level war. Human Alliance Si vis pacem, para bellum. The road to peace is war. A military-political-economic pact forged between the belligerents of WW3, the Human Alliance is focused on defending the common interests of its member nations, one of which is the prevention of another world war, best expressed in internal oppression and conservative external relations. Another goal is to push the human race into the realms of space, where they have made serious leaps and bounds—with a functional space elevator, a geostationary shipyard in earth's orbit, a moon base, a mars base, and a LMO (Low Mars Orbit) station, plus a fleet of interplanetary spacecraft. They have unrivaled activity in the Solar System. The Human Alliance is largely self-sufficient in terms of both energy and mineral resources, much in thanks to both fusion power plants and seemingly endless natural resources accessible only by Western-standard intensive techniques. The Alliance is actively planning large geoengineering projects as well, and is on its way to solve most of the ecologic problems plaguing its multiple megacities. History After defeating the Forgotten Coalition International, the NAU, IOR and IPC looked at their yards and decided that they would need help to clean up. Secondly, the alliance between the three superpowers at the end of WW3 helped them realize that working together was in their best interests. Finally, the original United Nations, just like the League of Nations, had proved to be useless in impeding large-scale military conflict. Therefore, in late 2035, the Pax Globus Treaty was signed in Bern, Switzerland. Organization Being the successor of the United Nations, which had virtually gone useless since WWIII started, the Human Alliance has taken over the original UN organs. The Alliance government consists of the Alliance Council, the Security Council, and the International Court of Justice; all other organs have been folded into the Alliance Council. The Human Alliance is led by the all-powerful Alliance Council, formed from the representatives of all member nations, normally the heads of their respective governments. The Alliance Council hold summits once every three months. They rule by the majority vote, and requires an absolute majority in every resolution. The Security Council serves to maintain security of the HA. Its representatives are from the USA, GB, EF, IOR, China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore. They rule by the majority vote, and requires an absolute majority in every resolution; veto power is available to each and every member, but can in-turn be overruled by a two-thirds majority (rounding up). In wartime, a Wartime Council consisting of the Executive Commander in Chief, the Commander in Chief, and the Vice Commander in Chief (the “Big Three”) are given absolute authority over the entire Human Alliance, able to send in the Human Alliance's elite, homogenous military at an enemy, impose martial law anywhere, and even arrest and/or imprison other Council members at a moment's notice. The current SCnC is President Kennith Lin of the USA, the CnC is the Tzar of Russia, and the vCnC is Prime Minister Liang Dai-teng of China. Foreign Policy The Human Alliance cares less for anyone that is not a member, which means that they maintain relatively limited economic ties with anyone else and only focuses on the well-being of its own citizens. Member Nations United States of America The USA is an aerospace and economic powerhouse of the Human Alliance. Even though it is a far cry from the sole global superpower it was back in the 1990s, it is also very different from its WW3 state. With a reformed economy and financial system, the nation is back as a stable global powerhouse. Another change is that after integration into the Human Alliance, the nation has lost much of is original principles, with a large government-owned portion of the economy, and electronic surveillance that is far more effective and ruthless than PRISIM. The USA excels in aerospace technology development. Canada Canada shares a southern and western border with the USA. Being home to endless natural resources, Canada, just like its Eurasian mirror, Russia, is at the forefront of the HA's mining industry. Just like the USA, it is also under heavy electronic surveillance. Canada also earns royalties off of every 1st generation Magneto-Inertial Fusion Reactor in the world. Great Britain Great Britain was a major belligerent in all three World Wars, and went through WWIII as part of the EF. However, after some disputes over post-war reconstruction, Britain opted out, although they still retain their common economic market. Just like the USA, it is also under heavy electronic surveillance. Great Britain now is the seat of naval power in the northern Atlantic. European Federation Formed immediately after the GNC, the Federation is at the head of high-quality (and high-cost) industry, while retaining its agriculture, tourism, and extremely tight economic regulations. However, just like the USA, it has also received heavy electronic surveillance that is just as effective and ruthless as it is in the States. The European Federation excels in advanced industrial technology, including Artificial Intelligence. Russia The IOR is famous as the organizer of the HAGF and its intelligence agency, the infamous Alliance Intelligence Agency, or the AIA. The nation has re-industrialized since the end of WW3, and now is self sufficient despite suffering from a relatively small population and having all of its industries and energy plants dual-purpose (able to act as a military plant within a moment's notice). Russia is also rolling out commercial magnetic confinement fusion technology (Tokomaks). China The New Chinese Republic has flourished since its foundation after the GNC, and the nation is now an economic powerhouse as well as being a much more liberal state, especially compared with its predecessor. China now is at the head of low and medium-level consumer goods production, and even is able to churn out very low amounts of very high-quality avionics equipment. Its internal market is quite sizable too, especially after post-war reconstruction. Taiwan After being ravaged in WW3, Taiwan has fully recovered and now is at the forefront of the high-quality consumer electronics industry. It also has a robust (commercial) avionics industry and high-quality agricultural goods. Taiwan is noticeably more militant that in was in the past, with its involvement in WW3 being the prominent reason for such a change. Taiwan is unrivaled when it comes to high-quality consumer electronics. Korea Korea was surprised when NBC-protected Russians braved nuclear fallout and invaded by land in early WW3. Even so, since the nation is no longer split into North and South iterations, the nation is far more laid back than it was, now focusing on consumer goods, especially electronic devices. Korea is at the forefront of internet and computer integration into everyday life. Japan Having been hooked up with not only China, Taiwan, and Korea, but also Russia for mutually beneficial economic partnerships, Japan now has a fully rejuvenated economy and it is reflected off of the nation's every-increasing GDP. It serves as the main stronghold of the Human Alliance Naval Force in the Far East. Japanese robotics technology are second to none. Israel A small yet highly militant state, Israel plays the role of the HA's stronghold in the middle east. Even before the APT was signed, Israel claimed much of the formerly contested areas, greatly simplifying regional governance in its territory. It has even gained energy independence thanks to a robust photoelectrolysis industry, cyro towers and fusion power plants. Israel leads HA counter-terrorism and point defense technology. Singapore A tiny militant island city-state in south-east Asia, Singapore controls the Malacca strait, and although it doesn't see as much freighter traffic anymore, it has reformed its economy as so to rely on the R&D of high-end industrial products. However, the recent turn of events (India and Indonesia rejecting HA membership) has given the small city-state a militarization rush. Singapore is responsible for a significant portion of the HA's weaponry R&D. Turkey The newest incorporated state, Turkey is a growing nation that serves as cheap labor for the EF and Israel, while also being the gatekeeper to the southern flank of the black sea and the IOR. The country is also notorious for being the most oppressed incorporated state in the Alliance. Panama Panama is important as the transportation hub between the Mexican Gulf and the US west coast and as the southern guard to North America. The latter fact has turned the tiny isthmus nation into a place crawling with military forces. It is a non-incorporated state that serves as the southern guard of Central and North America. United Islamic State Formed after the Abraham Pact Treaty joined the Human Alliance, the UIS is a union of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Egypt. The UIS is fully self-sufficient, and still sells crude oil from North Africa. It is a non-incorporated state that serves as the southern guard of Europe. South Eastern Asia Council The largest non-incorporated affiliate state, the SEAC provides the majority of basic industry and agriculture for the rest of Asia. It consists of Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, and Brunei; Indonesia opted out in 2036. They mainly serve as strategic defense, while also providing cheap goods and labor for the Human Alliance. Mexico An affiliate state of HA, Mexico supplies the majority of cheap labor for the North American market, while it has a steadily growing economy thanks to improved agriculture and oil exports. Mongolia The weakest non-incorporated state, Mongolia is largely focused on improving its tourism industry, as its relatively low level of development means that is has some of the world's best natural environments. Occupied Territories Balkan Bloc The most suppressed zone in the Human Alliance, peacekeeping forces from (mostly) the European area are here to hold the hundreds of ethic groups here from cutting open each others' throats. The Balkan Bloc is simply a place where the HA has occupied, as its troubles are a source of nuisance and even the UEC doesn't want to deal with it. The HA maintains a credible force here in order to keep Europe safe. Caribbean Sea Not officially part of the Alliance, the many islands of the Caribbean provide basic agriculture and tourism for the HA. The Alliance keeps a constant presence in the area, especially since it is a place where drug trafficking takes place. Central Asia The Human Alliance maintains a peacekeeping presence here, since the place is full of regional landlords fighting over the land and trafficking drugs. To reduce the number of overdoses, especially through China and Russia, the HA has bases and road checkpoints scattered throughout the region. Economy The Human Alliance's economy combines the three largest economic sectors of the world—North America, Europe and the Far East—making it the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. Extensive damage caused during World War Three have all been either repaired or improved, and by the halfway mark of the 21st century, the Human Alliance is back into normal operations, focusing on increasing its consumer market and not on reparations. The HA regulates tariff-free trade within itself, while most imports receive heavy tariff in order to protect the Alliance's own businesses and corporations. While this is a major factor in the boost of trade internally, it is one of the reasons there is so much hate for the Alliance externally. A noteworthy exception is crude oil—there is no tariff whatsoever for it, since internal demand for it is low, and that Alliance oil exports to non-HA states make up for a considerable portion of its non-incorporated state income. Military The Human Alliance armed forces is a juggernaut with over 5 million personnel, a hundred thousand AFVs, over five hundred “wet” navy vessels, and a fleet of interplanetary spaceships. Even at such a size, it is completely homogenous and fully integrated—albeit with some regional variations. For example, the high command is composed of many WW3 veterans with plentiful experience of fighting each other, and the personnel range from Russian conscripts to American jocks to Asian computer geeks. Nonetheless, they are well-trained, well-equipped—but not overly reliant on technological superiority, and well-motivated for a fight. HA Ground Force “The Sword of the Alliance.” The Ground Force composes the bulk of the Alliance's might, with over three million combat-ready troops fielding powered armor and large-caliber assault rifles, riding on air-transportable common-platform combat vehicles, supported by gunship transports, tiltjets and 150-ton armored behemoths. The Ground Force also operates hypersonic fighters, heavy CAS, military airlift, and support aircraft. HA Expeditionary Force “The Hammer of the Alliance.” The Expeditionary Force is an airborne/naval combined rapid response force. Their arsenal includes elite mechanized infantry, lightweight yet hard-hitting an fairly agile vehicles, military airlift, combat drones, light CAS, and naval strike groups centered around invasion carriers. HA Naval Force “The Shield of the Alliance.” Although they get the smallest budget, the HANF still fields a massive fleet that weighs in over the 500-ship mark, with nuclear-powered railgun cruisers, supercarriers, Mobile Offshore Bases, ultra-stealthy submarines, and squadrons upon squadrons of strike aircraft. They also get to manage overseas logistics support. HA Space Force “The Halberd of the Alliance.” This is the single most prominent reason for belief in the Alliance's advances in space: they have a civilian-military space organization that is in charge of every single HA asset in space, which also sells Helium-3 and metal ore from outer space. They field the Alliance's global retaliation satellite array consisting of hundreds of weaponry satellites, detection satellites, spy satellites, and surface-to-orbit spaceplanes capable of touting missiles with 450-Kiloton thermonuclear warheads—which are kept on maximum alert 24-7. In addition to that, they also have rapid response forces which can arrive in powered armor and mechanized support anywhere in the world within sixty minutes. But their strength lies in their squadron of interplanetary cargo, exploration, and support vessels. The HASF receives more and more budget every year, with 26% of the HA military's funding in 2054. United Earth Commonwealth De oppressso liber, ad mortem tyranni. To free the oppressed, death to tyrants. A ragtag union of countries that have a grudge against the Human Alliance, the UEC is an economic, political and military pact. History The grudges date back far for some. But in terms of recent events, the last straw was WW3. The belligerents of WW3 tore each other apart, and the industrialized rest of the world stood for profit—selling goods, resources, and sometimes even manpower to each fraction. Then the GAC came along, and the superpower alliance cared less about the sovereignty of other states, the Invasion of Africa and the Assault in Chile being the two most prominent examples. In order to ensure that the “superpowers” never ignored their sovereignty again, the AU and the UNASUR formed the United Earth Security Directorate, a “NATO of the southern hemisphere.” While many nations saw the Human Alliance as a welcome replacement organization of the United Nations, the HA soon imposed several very serious restrictions on its member nations, one of which was partially giving up political, military, and economic sovereignty. This was a huge no-no to the UESD members who had formed their alliance to protect their soverignty. Additionally, even though several nations were willing to comply, the nature of the HA worried many scholars who believed that the non-beligerent nations would be sucked dry to repair the superpowers' territory. Criticizing the HA as the ultimate instrument of inequality, they expanded the UESD into a full-blown counter-Human Alliance organization: the United Earth Commonwealth. Organization The Commonwealth believes that it is the “proper” successor to the UN, an organization for freedom and not oppression. It consists of a senate, a security directorate, a legislative organ, and an international court. The senate consists of five hundred senators, split throughout the UEC by population number instead of political entity. They pass decision via majority rule, with their Chancellor, a man named Kristoff Hansen, Oceanian, being the senate's mouthpiece. The UEC capitol is Canberra.The UEC Security Directorate is formed of representatives from Australia, New Zealand, Nigeria, South Africa, UNASUR, India, and Indoneasia. To solve the old UNSC and its Peacekeeping force's flaws, the UEC Security Directorate does not supply veto power to its decision-making council, and has even absorbed (and heavily augmented) a former Private Military Contractor to serve as its dedicated decision-executor. Foreign Policy The United Earth Commonwealth accepts any and all groups or parties against the Human Alliance, while they truly hate the HA and wish to see them wiped off the face of the earth. All other neutral parties are treated as partners. Member Nations Australia and New Zealand (AUNZ) After the war ended, AUNZ brought out trillions of dollars and humanitarian aid for each of the three superpowers, hoping that they would be allowed into the Human Alliance. But after entry forced them to divert billions of dollars towards superpower reparations, they turned away. Australia and New Zealand now serve as the main powerhouse of the UEC, having GDP rivaling that of Great Britain and Canada combined, thanks to nearly unobstructed growth in WW3 and the decade following. They have high-end industrial technology on-par with any Alliance company, although their R&D departments are noticeably efficient. The AUNZ is responsible for high-end avionics, aircraft, vehicle, vessel, and weaponry production. Nigeria The main supplier of oil for the UEC, Nigeria has reformed its oil production industry to make it more profitable for the entire nation. Nigeria has seen an influx of cash immediately after the GNC, and finally, it was put to good use, improving civil infrastructure and public facilities. Nigeria supplies the energy needs for one third of the UEC. South Africa South Africa has always been at the forefront of industrialized Africa, and it continues to do so, thanks to well-spent money on the nation to improve civil rest, infrastructure, housing, and industry. It's “Self-Defense Forces” were renamed and given the right to operate on foreign soil, and has also been given a much larger budget to buy more sophisticated equipment. S. Africa supplies the bulk of military equipment for the UEC, as well as having a robust commercial space industry. UNASUR The Union of South American Nations has gone one step further than its bond of the post-GNC and WW3 period, and has been formally integrated. Their agricultural production is massive. Thanks to numerous technologies obtained during the “Chillean Tech Grab,” they are now major producers of industrial goods, as well as making significant military and avionics technology leaps. In addition, they shared all captured technology, sending it to foreign R&D corporations. India India was brought along into the IPC because at the time, it was the only option to remain alive—with the vast majority of the nation's energy supplies suddenly non-existent, and with crumbling trade resulting in negative income, India was bound to collapse if someone didn't intervene. The IPC did, and while the intervention saved India, they were always neglected—treated as a third wheel. India, although boasting a massive population and significant influence in the area, was blatantly left out of IPC decision-making meetings and exploited by other members of the IPC. India saw a recession even before WW3 began. Then came the GAC, which set the most prosperous area—the great Indian plains—on fire, devastating the nation. As soon as the UEC popped up, India left the Alliance and headed straight into the UEC, who offered it much greater economic support than the HA had ever vowed to provide. India has experience a period of major economic and military growth in the decade following WW3, thanks to UEC money that allowed it to rapidly build up its key infrastructure (such as electricity, water, sanitation, and transportation), paving the way towards rapid industrialization, solving the majority of India's unemployment and illiteracy. India is at the head of the UEC's software development and mechanical engineering. Indonesia Another turn-coat from the Alliance, Indonesia was utterly crushed during the GNC when oil ran out and European money went to Africa. The nation's military took over the nation, vastly increased the amount of food (not cash crops) grown to support the nation's massive population, established state (military)-run factories for the production of basic goods, and held the area by martial law. This provided stability, but sooner or later, the nation was bound to collapse. When the IPC came to be, they were marked up (alongside Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Burma, and the Philippines, who weren't doing much better) into the SEB, a relatively derogatory term for the “general area of Southeast Asia.” They got nothing but annual cash and food support from the IPC. As soon as the UEC showed up on the world stage, and being close to Oceania, Indonesia, with India, opted out of the Alliance and entered the UEC. Ever since, Oceanic investments in the area have turned it into a robust industrialized nation, with good infrastructure, a sizable consumer goods industry, vehicle production industry, and a stable agricultural base, providing the nation with lots of money. Most of it was spent on augmenting the nation's armed forces alongside UEC 2050. Zone One Zone One is the relatively undeveloped portions of Africa. The largest Zone in the Commonwealth, Zone One mostly consists of regional warlords ruling over vast swathes of the African landscape. One is home to a billion people, who are called “ones” by the core states of the UEC. Zone One exports diamonds and other raw resources, which is traded with core states for firearms and fuel. Zone Two The richest non-core state territory, Zone Two is the combination of the entire middle east, excluding the portion salted in the GNC and the portion that the Human Alliance has control over, and also includes central Asia, where Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and a portion of Turkmenistan once existed. The region is home to numerous Arabian warlord realms, as well as completely domed cities home to former oil emirates, their families, their workers, and their armies—built in relatively non-radioactive portions of the Persian Gulf. Two is home to over a hundred million people, who are called “twos” by the core states of the UEC. They export oil and raw materials (cotton, metal ore) to the UEC. The most interesting part is, since the UEC's demand for oil is still high, they have gone back with radiation-protected drilling teams to reclaim the non-salted oil fields that were simply nuked apart in the Great Nuclear Crisis. This has led to the construction of a highway of underground tunnels that allow passage of both oil and vehicles throughout the Zone and to major (domed) cities in the region. Zone Three Zone Three consists of the remains of Chile, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. Zone Four is inhabited by over two hundred million people, mostly drafted into warlord armies or working farms or doing entry-level industrial labor. People living in Zone three are called “threes” by the core states of the UEC. Economy The UEC's economy has seen major improvements and growth in the years following its formation. Thanks to the burst of growth in the days of World War Three, the UEC's economy, when combined, allows it to rival the Human Alliance in size, if not GDP. The UEC's formation was sparked by protective tariffs thrown up by the Human Alliance, and although they still import crude oil from the Human Alliance, they are finding other alternate sources of energy. One example is South American biodiesel and ethanol created from corn, which is gaining a lot of ground with consumer vehicles of the core states. Military Unlike the HA, the UEC's military is far from integrated and homogenous. As the Commonwealth lacks an established centralized command infrastructure, the role and authority of its individual local commanders are far above than of those of the Alliance; for some, their rank directly affects the amount of troops they can bring to bear. Therefore, field commanders are quite territorial and rarely move from theater to theater, and are given forces to complete their missions directly by the Senate. The UEC military is mostly comprized of personnel from its many member nations, who bought equipment from various sources, making unification difficult. However, the richer core states and the UEC SDF have all undergone the UEC 2050 military modernization plan, providing them with various degrees of military unification. To counter the military advantage posessed by the HA, the UEC field a large amount of exotic weaponry, many of them derived from technology gathered during the “Chillean Tech Grab.” Oceania and South Africa lead the UEC in terms of fielded military equipment, with UNASUR, India, and Indonesia not far behind. UEC Security Directorate Force The Security Directorate Force is the UEC's solution to the UN Peacekeeping force. Originally a North American-based PMC called Advanced Regional Enforcement and Security (ARES), it has since been lifted up by its roots and planted in Bahrain. Afterwards, its leadership has been revised, training intesified, and equipment modernized, often fielding prototype weapons, equipment, and transport. The UEC SDF is under direct command of the Security Directorate, immediately acting upon a Security Directorate resolution; these range from counter-terrorism to rebellion suppression to asymetric and conventional warfare. Most SDF soldiers are specialized, either operating as heavy police/urban combat specialists, or commandos/guerrila warfare operators. UEC's super-soldier program is also part of the SDF. UEC Army The Army of the core states has adopted the majority of the IPC's combat doctrine, where firepower and mobility preside above protection and accuracy. This is best expressed in infantry carrying rapid-fire weaponry and vehicles equipped with large-caliber guns. The UEC Army also fields some of the most terrifying vehicles in the world, including bipedal mechanical vehicles of various sizes. UEC Air Force Everything that files or supports something that flies is Air Force—including the UEC's four supercarriers. They field many exotic designs, making use of solid yet untested technology. The UECAF relies on mixed air superiority tactics, the world's most deadly SAM system, airship transports, and railgun-touting CAS aircraft to support the Army. UEC Navy The Navy of the UEC has completely thrown away the naval fleet structure and tactics of the late 20th and early 21st century, and creating their own unique combat style. Their naval doctrine is centered around large amounts of small ships and fluid maneuver combat instead of massive aircraft carriers. While much smaller than the HANF in tonnage, its unorthodox combat doctrine has the potential to give the HANF a headache. UEC Space Force The Commonwealth Space Force operates all of the UEC's spaceborne assets, including cargo spaceplanes, satellites, and commercially operated space stations (that are mostly staffed by the military) producing high-quality transistors in hard vacuum chambers, high-quality optics in zero-G with minimum wastage of precious materials, and even growing diamonds in hard vacuum for use on the tips of drills. UEC “Warlord Forces” Warlord forces are essentially non-integrated (and more often than not, private) armies in the Zones of the UEC. Although they sometimes fight each other for power, money, land, food, water, etc., their leaders still do listen to the UEC senate when they order them to attack a common target—and promise them money, or land, or food, or water etc. in return. It is estimated that there is a total of fifty million soldiers in warlord armies around the world. They range from cannon fodder equipped with Type 401s (and copies) to experienced guerrilla fighters to multirole fighter aircraft fielded by rich Middle Eastern emirates. Trade Order Protectorate Caution. This section contains spoilers. Live, Fight, and Die for the Order. The Trade Order Protectorate is an economic, political and military pact formed between the belligerents of the Great Interstellar Conflict. Its main purpose is to regulate trade throughout all of mankind, and to uphold the sacred Trade Order, a codified supreme moral standard of living. History After the Interstellar Trade War claimed billions of lives and burned away at each belligerent's economy for decades, the three factions called for a cease-fire and union, creating a supreme moral standard as their constitution in the process. This makes the TOP sport a heavily shame-and-honor oriented society. However, many did not agree with their leaders' decisions. Immediately after the TOP was formed, massive portions of each original faction splintered off and rebelled. Thus, the TOP was forced to continue to fight for unity for the next few decades in the Great Crusade. Organization The Trade Order Protectorate is led by the High Lord Council, a senate of approximately forty High Lords in charge of zones. High Lords are elected from planetary government leaders of a zone by said zone's planetary government leaders, who in turn are elected by their respective planet's population. They rule by the majority vote. The High Lord Council rules from Terra, or Earth. Some High Lords are appointed leadership positions, namely the Trademaster (in charge of economic-related activities), the Ordermaster (in charge of upholding the Trade Order), and the Warmaster (in charge of rebellion crushing and conquest). Later, when the TOP 1st PEC “Gears of Iron” (with supporting OGF and Navy elements) returned and found no trace of the High Lord Council, their commander, Warmaster Kijevelik Achtunak, took over emergency command of the TOP. Foreign Policy The TOP is highly oppressive of any other regime, expressed in multiple “crusades” to conquer and subjugate “rebel” planets—if they want to do trade, then they must adopt the Trade Order first. Which pretty much integrates them into the TOP. Territory TOP databases have record of 1,800 planets strewn throughout the Milky Way, with the vast majority of them in the Orion arm. Economy Being named after economic activity, the TOP boasted a massive interstellar economy, with quadrillions of tons of raw material, agricultural goods, and industrial products being traded from one end of the TOP to the other. The market is largely free-market, where the government does not intervene all the time; the government does however run its own businesses, and regulates high-efficiency recycling (wasting is a huge no-no in the Order). The TOP populace is split into two categories: the first are the citizens of the Core Worlds. Core World citizens range from farmers operating massive agricultural machines, to swarms of blue-collar industrial workers, to select handfuls of white-collar people who work for the R&D departments of their company or are employed as TOP government officials. The TOP, even with advanced automation technology, still has a sizable physical labor workforce, for one reason: the Trade Order. According to the Order, humans must be allowed to fulfill their right of profession. “Productive” work (industry, agriculture) is held at higher regard than “non-productive” work (finance, service), and therefore, all Core Worlds maintain a large number of factories for their populations to work in. Blue-collar workers have few rights, but their superiors (white-collar workers) have the responsibility of taking good care of their subordinates. White-collar people's honor reflects how well their workers are off. “Good care” of their subordinates come in the form of cash bonuses and other gifts; blue-collar workers do not get salaries in the form of money, but get everyday necessity cards, which are traded in at their respected places for their corresponding goods. They have concrete work hours, and the amount of cards that they get is based on what their needs are; should the worker have lots of mouths to feed and has a labor-intensive job, then they will get more cards, and the opposite is true. White-collar workers, on the other hand, get salaries according to their position and how well they execute that position. They don't have fixed work hours; everything they do must be done before the deadline, regardless of what time it is. However, they do get more than enough money to support their lives. The massive amounts of Core World citizens are housed in massive Hive Cities, megaconstructs a kilometer in diameter, two hundred meters high, and able to house one million people each. And those are the old Hives. The other category consists of the Frontiermen. Frontiermen is a general term describing Core World Citizens who chose to forgo a stable (and relatively mundane) life, choosing adventure and freedom instead. Frontiermen are sent with TOP PECs to claim and tame new planets. Having zero social, economic or political benefits, they are the ones who enter uncharted planets and set it up for colonization. As soon as the planet's population exceeds 100 million, it is marked as a new TOP colony, and granted a PGF and central government. After colonizing a new planet, most Frontiermen stay there for the rest of their lives, although a select handful choose to go on another adventure and head to a new, untamed planet. Military The TOP Order Enforcement Forces' combat doctrine is this: hold off attacks until the PEC arrives and steamrolls them. Keep in mind that not all planets welcomed the formation of the Trade Order Protectorate. TOP Order Guard Force (OGF) The TOP PGF, commonly referred to as the “Guard,” is essentially an umbrella term for all of the planetary militaries that each planet has to fend off an incursion. The Guard is comprised of lots and lots of expendable infantry, supported by heavy artillery, and even road-mobile anti-starship nuclear missile batteries. Armored forces, including super-heavy tanks, are kept on-hand should a regional rebellion arise. Each OGF is divided into Armies, each consisted of one million professional soldiers. The planet's entire population of 18 to 24-year old males act as wartime conscripts (normally, well over 2 billion), which are drafted into special Reserve Armies. Each planet often modifies their own OGF, making different Guards sport different livery, slightly different equipment, and varied tactics. TOP Protectorate Expeditionary Chapters (PEC) The TOP PEC is the expansion and planetary rebellion-crushing arm of the TOP's military. Dedicated to rapid response, the PEC is formed of elite power-armored drop soldiers and highly mobile tanks combined with decent atmospheric and space-borne support to smash through the heaviest defenses. They are also a force to be reckoned with in space-to-space combat, especially since the operate ships-of-the-line that weigh in from a “measly” 750,000 tons to gargantuan five-kilometer-long starships touting planet-destroying supermassive-caliber ultra heavy mass accelerators. Each Chapter numbers 10,000 combatants, not counting support personnel. TOP Navy The TOP Navy is an escort and patrol force that takes care of the protection of merchant shipping, operation of starharbors, and patrol of asteroid belts for rebel forces and rogue miners. They also have fast-response battlegroups formed for a couple cruisers to fend off attacking enemy ships. The Navy is also used to transport OGF forces to other planets when no PECs available, the OGF can handle the threat alone, or should PECs need reinforcements in the manner of raw firepower. Category:Blog posts